Former Argentina coach Diego Maradona has shed no tears over the death of Paul the 'psychic' octopus.
Paul gained worldwide fame during the 2010 World Cup finals in which he correctly predicted the winner of Germany's seven matches in South Africa and was also correct in his prediction of the final between Spain and Netherlands.
Germany defeated Argentina 4-0 in the quarter-finals, which effec...Full Story »

Tevez: Misses his family in Argentina
Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz insists there is no rift between Carlos Tevez and Roberto Mancini amid the Argentine's home sickness.
Santa Cruz was quoted as saying that Tevez is not enjoying life at Eastlands and that he is missing his family back home.
This has added fuel to the speculation that Tevez is frustrated Mancini but Sa...Full Story »

BERLIN (AFP) - Germany striker Miroslav Klose's bid to get over a torn thigh muscle injury stalled Wednesday after the Bayern Munich forward broke down again with the injury in training.
Klose, 32, tore the thigh muscle in the 3-0 win over Kazakhstan in a Euro 2012 qualifier earlier this month. He had scored the game's opening goal to take his Germany goals tally to 58 from 105 appearances.
Th...Full Story »

LONDON (AFP) - Sunderland defender Anton Ferdinand was banned from driving for six months on Wednesday after being convicted of using a mobile phone while at the wheel of his car in July.
The 25-year-old—brother of England captain Rio Ferdinand—spoke only to confirm his name and address during a brief hearing before Newcastle magistrates.
Ferdinand was banned because he already had...Full Story »

ROME (AP)—The Italian players association and Serie A officials have been summoned to a decisive negotiating session Tuesday to avoid a strike.
Italian Football Federation president Giancarlo Abete sent letters to notify the parties Wednesday, saying that the talks will proceed until a settlement is reached or the federation will nominate a special commissioner to handle the issue.
Inter...Full Story »

ZURICH (AP)—England's complaint that 2018 World Cup bid rival Russia broke competition rules by criticizing London was being studied by FIFA on Wednesday, as Moscow’s most senior football official branded the move “absolutely primitive.”
FIFA said in a statement that the dispute is “currently pending” and it had contacted both countries’ bid committee...Full Story »

LONDON (AFP) - A 1966 World Cup winner's medal owned by England football hero Nobby Stiles set a new world record after being sold at auction in Scotland on Wednesday.
Stiles's gold medal was snapped up for 188,200 pounds (297,000 dollars, 215,000 euros) by the player's former club Manchester United—a world record figure for any football medal sold at auction.
United plan to put the obje...Full Story »

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP)—The Scottish Football Association will not decide what action to take over the incident that led a linesman to quit the sport until after its referee committee meets on Friday.
Steven Craven resigned after he and his family were abused following a referee’s decision to overturn a penalty awarded to Celtic in a Scottish Premier League match against Dundee Unite...Full Story »

Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso has been honoured with the Lani Onari award by the president of the Basque autonomous region Patxi Lopez.
Alonso helped Spain win the World Cup in South Africa in the summer and has also been in very good form for los Blancos since the start of the 2010-11 season.
Lopez has been quoted by Madrid’s official website as saying, "His football boots represen...Full Story »

FIFA conducZURICH (AP)—Mexican club Pachuca must beat teams from Africa and South America to reach the final of the Club World Cup.
FIFA made the draw Wednesday for the tournament between continental champions being played Dec. 8-18 in Abu Dhabi. CONCACAF champion Pachuca was paired with the winner between TP Mazembe of Congo and Tunisia’s Esperance, who play an upcoming two-leg Afr...Full Story »